Effect of enzyme additives on quality of alfalfa/grass silage and dairy cow performance

1993 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 581-591 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. H. Fredeen ◽  
R. E. McQueen

First- and second-cut alfalfa/grass forage crops were wilted to approximately 40% dry matter (DM) and ensiled untreated (control) or treated with either of two enzyme additives to determine the effects on silage quality and animal performance of crops that contain different ratios of legume to grass. An alfalfa enzyme mix (Alfa) contained cellulase, amylase and glucose oxidase; a grass enzyme mix (Grass) was similar but contained no amylase. Both additives contained identical inoculants of lactobacillus. Silage was fed to mid-lactation Holstein cows at 60 d (second cut) and 120 d (first cut) postensiling using repeated Latin square designs. Silage samples and animal performance data were collected during the last 7 d of each of three 28-d feeding periods that comprised each Latin square. Colony-forming units of lactic acid bacteria, concentrations of water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC), ammonia N, acid-detergent fiber N and organic acids, pH, DM disappearance, and temperature changes during ensiling were measured to assess silage quality. Six sheep were also used in a repeated Latin square design to determine digestibility of the second-cut silages. First-cut silage, which contained about 50% timothy, and 50% alfalfa was qualitatively similar across treatments except for a lower (P < 0.05) concentration of hemicellulose in Grass-treated silage. The only effect (P < 0.05) on quality of second-cut silage, which contained about 80% alfalfa and 20% timothy, was an increase in estimated DM loss in Grass-treated silage compared with Alfa and the control. Despite the negligible effects on silage quality parameters, Grass slightly depressed (P < 0.10) the yield of fat-corrected milk in cows fed first-cut silage, and DM intake of cows fed second-cut forage was elevated slightly (P < 0.05) and fat percent was depressed (P < 0.05) by Alfa relative to the control. Consequently, although the change was small, enzyme treatment of forages may represent a means of reducing the fat percent of milk. Sheep consumed more (P < 0.05) second-cut silage treated with Alfa, and DM digestibility was higher (P = 0.09) when compared with the control. An enzyme mixture containing amylase may be marginally more effective when forage mixtures contain more alfalfa than timothy. Key words: Silage, enzymes, dairy, cow, digestibility, milk fat

2012 ◽  
Vol 554-556 ◽  
pp. 1053-1056 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Fen Zhuang ◽  
Xin Zhu Chen ◽  
Zhao Xia Dong ◽  
Jian Guo Zhang ◽  
Wen Chang Zhang

Two moisture levels of sugarcane top (moisture contents 69.03% - MC1 and 56.38% - MC2) were treated with fermented green juice (FGJ) at 2 ml/kg and/or with cellulase (CEL) at 5000 U/kg raw matter, and ensiled in the laboratory at ambient temperature. All additive treatments significantly (P<0.01) increased lactic acid and water soluble carbohydrate (WSC) contents, and significantly (P<0.01) decreased pH and contents of NH3-N and acetic acid compared with the control. The treatment of FGJ and CEL mixture significantly (P<0.01) decreased pH and content of acetic acid (AA) compared with treatments of FGJ and CEL alone. All the MC2 silages had more extensive fermentation than MC1 silage, shown by higher contents of lactic acid, lower pH values and NH3-N contents. In conclusion, both FGJ and CEL addition significantly improved the silage quality of sugarcane top, and their mixture had better result than FGJ and CEL alone. Reducing the moisture content of sugarcane top could improve its silage quality.


1991 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
pp. 781-791 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. H. Fredeen ◽  
R. E. McQueen ◽  
D. A. Browning

Timothy (trial 1) and alfalfa (trial 2) were inoculated at ensiling (33–37% dry matter (DM)) in concrete-stave, vertical silos with a culture of lactic acid bacteria (Lab; Lactobacillus plantarum and Pediococcus acidilactici) alone, or with additional nutrients and enzymes (Supersile®, Biotal Canada, Calgary, AB), and compared with an untreated (control) silage. Colony forming units of Lab, ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N), lactic acid and volatile fatty acid concentrations, pH, DM disappearance and temperature changes during ensiling were measured to assess silage quality. Nine dairy cows in mid-lactation (alfalfa) and nine cows in late lactation (timothy) were used to evaluate inoculants in repeated Latin square designs. Timothy silage that had been inoculated with Supersile or Lab had lower concentrations of acetic and butyric acid (P < 0.05) compared with the control. No other effects on silage quality were observed, and cow performance was not affected by using inoculants on either timothy or alfalfa in this study. Enzymes added in this experiment were not beneficial. Key words: Silage, inoculants, alfalfa, timothy, dairy, cow


2001 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 533-540 ◽  
Author(s):  
N.W. Offer ◽  
M. Marsden ◽  
R.H. Phipps

AbstractSixteen Holstein Friesian cows were offered ad libitum a forage mixture of three parts (dry-matter (DM) basis) maize silage (starch and neutral-detergent fibre (NDF) 324 and 395 g/kg DM) and one part grass silage (NDF 518 g/kg DM) in a 4 ✕ 4 Latin-square change-over design experiment using four periods each of 4 weeks. Cows were housed in a cubicle house, bedded on sand and given food through Calan gates. The four supplement treatments were control (no oil supplement, C); 1·5 kg/day processed crushed linseed (PL); 1·5 kg/day crushed linseed (L) and 0·6 kg/day marine algae (A) providing 0, 440, 423 and 109 g/day of oil respectively. Cows also received a pelleted concentrate in three equal meals (12·0, 10·5, 10·5 and 11·2 kg/day for C, PL, L and A respectively) containing (g/kg DM) 260, 203, 288 and 74 of crude protein, NDF, starch and water-soluble carbohydrate respectively. Oil supplementation depressed (P < 0·05) forage intake (11·2, 10·3, 10·1 and 10·1 kg DM per day) but milk yield was unaffected (P > 0·05) by treatment (mean 35·9 kg/day). Milk fat concentrations were low and further depressed (P < 0·05) by algal supplementation (33·5, 32·3, 32·3 and 25·6 g/kg). Algal supplementation caused a three-fold increase in the concentrations of (n-3) long chain (>C20) polyunsaturated fatty acids in milk fat (to 0·51 g/100 g fat) representing a transfer efficiency from diet to milk of ca. 5%. Oil supplementation increased levels of all trans monoenes in milk but the effect was much greater for treatment A (P < 0·05) and for trans-10 C18: 1 (1·52, 1·94, 1·72 and 6·12 g/100 g milk fat for C, PL, L and A respectively). Trans-10 C18: 1 was the predominant trans monoene in milk fat for all treatments (47·7, 45·2, 45·6 and 67·4% of total). Treatment A also caused the greatest increases (P < 0·05) in conjugated linoleic acid (CLA to 0·54, 0·69, 0·65 and 0·97 g/100 g milk fat). Although mainly cis-9, trans-11, a small proportion (4·8 to 5·5%) of the CLA was identified as the trans-10, cis-12 isomer for all treatments. This pattern of isomers of trans monoenes and CLA, which may have implications for the health properties of the milk, may be related to effects on rumen function caused by the high starch intakes (5·75, 5·09, 5·11 and 5·27 kg/day).


Author(s):  
J R Weddell

Studies with beef cattle (Kennedy and Carson, 1991) and dairy cattle (Chamberlain et al, 1990) have shown responses in dry matter intake of silage and animal performance through applying Maxgrass silage additive to unwilted herbage ensiled in clamps. Maxgrass (BP Chemicals Ltd) contains (weight/volume) 68% ammonium hexamethanoate, 11% ammonium hexapropanoate and 2% octanoic acid.Research at Aberdeen has shown the benefits of using both inoculant (Weddell, 1990a) and formic acid based (Weddell, 1990b) additives on big bale silage which now constitutes around 15% of the total silage dry matter ensiled in the UK. The present study compared the effects on silage composition, animal performance and storage losses of Maxgrass treated with untreated big bale silage.Second cut perennial ryegrass herbage was wilted to a mean DM content of 230 g/kg then baled by fixed chamber baler. Mean water soluble carbohydrate was 100 g/kg DM. Alternate groups of six bales were left untreated or treated with Maxgrass silage additive at 7.4 1/tonne wilted grass.


2003 ◽  
Vol 2003 ◽  
pp. 10-10
Author(s):  
R.M. Kirkland ◽  
D.C. Patterson

A preliminary study at this Institute indicated that inclusion of high quality maize silage in a grass silage-based diet could promote higher forage intakes in beef cattle, but the response to inclusion of maize silage was affected by the quality of grass silage. The objective of this study was to further examine the effects of grass (GS) and maize (MS) silage qualities on intake characteristics, and to evaluate the influence of forage offered on animal performance.


2001 ◽  
Vol 2001 ◽  
pp. 88-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
I.A. Bouriako ◽  
H. Shihab ◽  
V. Kuri ◽  
J. K. Margerison

Wilting grass before ensiling has become a firmly established practice, since it provides economic advantages due to the increment of the dry matter content of the forage before ensiling. Most forage crops contain less than 20 per cent of dry matter when they are cut thus reduction of the weight of crop to be transported provides advantages (Gordon et al., 1999). Also, research has shown that such practices yield improved and reduced effluent loss from the silo and higher feeding value of the silage. Wilting of grass prior to ensiling has been widely adopted as a means of reducing effluents produced and improving the fermentation quality of silage. The aim of this research was to assess the effect of differing wilting periods and silage moisture levels of silage quality and microbial growth levels.


2007 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 25 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. G. Kaiser ◽  
B. S. Dear ◽  
S. G. Morris

The effect of harvest time on the dry matter (DM) yield and quality of 10 annual temperate legumes [Trifolium subterraneum, var. brachcalycinum and var. subterraneum L. (subterranean clover), T. michelianum Savi (balansa clover), T. alexandrinum L. (berseem clover), Medicago murex Willd. (murex medic), M. truncatula Gaertn. (barrel medic), T. vesiculosum Savi (arrowleaf clover), Vicia sativa L. (common vetch), V. benghalensis L. (purple vetch), Pisum sativum L. (peas) grown in monoculture or in mixtures with oats (Avena sativa L.)] was examined in a Mediterranean environment in southern New South Wales. Three of the legumes (subterranean clover, berseem and peas) were also grown in mixtures with ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.). The forages were sown on 29 May and harvested at three times (2 October, 23 October and 6 November), corresponding to the boot, anthesis and dough stage of the cereal oat variety, Kalgan. Peas were the highest yielding of the legume monocultures at each of the three harvest times (6.9, 11.6, 12.3 t DM/ha), followed by purple vetch (6.2, 9.9, 8.7 t DM/ha). Of the small-seeded pasture legumes, berseem, murex and arrowleaf clover were the highest yielding at the second harvest (7.5–8.8 t DM/ha) when most reached their peak biomass. The inclusion of oats with the legumes increased total DM yield at the first, second and third harvests by 10–54, 7–99 and 3–102%, respectively. Oat monocultures were high yielding (up to 17.7 t DM/ha), but had low N contents (6.3–12.5 g N/kg DM). Oat–legume forage mixtures had nitrogen (N) contents of 7–15 g N/kg compared with 17–40 g N/kg in the legume monocultures. The N content and digestibility of most species and mixtures decreased as harvest time was delayed, whereas total DM peaked at the second harvest for all species except Cooba oats. The legume content of the mixtures was negatively correlated with total DM yield, DM content and water soluble carbohydrates, but positively correlated with N content, in vitro digestibility and buffering capacity. The digestibility of oats decreased more rapidly than the legumes with advancing maturity, and it would need to be harvested at the boot stage to produce a silage of sufficiently high metabolisable energy for the production feeding of cattle. A later harvest at anthesis when yield is higher would produce a silage of sufficient quality for production feeding from an oat–large seeded legume mixture with a legume content of 0.50. The oats and ryegrass had high water soluble carbohydrate and low to medium buffering capacity and would, therefore, be expected to produce well-preserved silages. The legume monocultures had low water soluble carbohydrate contents and high buffering capacity values and there would be a high risk of a poor silage fermentation in these forages without field wilting or the use of a silage additive.


2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 745
Author(s):  
Mário Henrique França Mourthé ◽  
Fernando César Ferraz Lopes ◽  
Ronaldo Braga Reis ◽  
Marco Antônio Sundfeld da Gama ◽  
Mirton José Frota Morenz ◽  
...  

The goal of this study was to evaluate the ruminal metabolic parameters and milk fatty acid composition of cows managed under continuous grazing on Marandu grass. Four rumen-cannulated Holstein x Gyr cows with an average milk yield of 21±2 kg day-1 and 79±16 days in milk were used in a 4 x 4 Latin Square design. Each cow received 6 kg day-1 of a concentrate formulated with 0 (control), 1.3, 2.6 or 3.9 kg of roasted soybeans (as-fed basis), which were the experimental treatments. The inclusion of roasted soybeans promoted a linear reduction in the acetate concentration, with no effect on the pH and ruminal ammonia N concentration. There was no effect of the treatments on the ruminal degradability of the dry matter and neutral detergent fiber of Marandu grass or on the kinetic parameters of the fluids in the rumen. There were linear increases in the contents of fat and total solids in the milk and a linear decrease in the milk lactose content, but there was no effect of the treatments on the yield of these components or on milk yield. There were linear increases in milk fat stearic, elaidic, oleic, linoleic and ?-linolenic acids contents, but there was no effect of the treatments on the milk fat contents of vaccenic and rumenic acids. Notably, supplementing Marandu grass with a concentrate containing up to 3.9 kg of roasted soybeans improved the nutritional quality of the milk fat due to increases in the milk fat contents of oleic and ?-linolenic acids, which are considered beneficial to human health, and reductions in the levels of lauric, myristic and palmitic, which are considered hypercholesterolemic fatty acids.


1994 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. K. Macleod ◽  
P. E. Colucci ◽  
A. D. Moore ◽  
D. G. Grieve ◽  
N. Lewis

Two lactation trials were conducted with Holstein cows to assess the effects of varying the feeding frequency of concentrates, addition of long hay, and the sequence of hay and grain feeding on performance, rumen fermentation and eating behavior. Numbers of primiparous and multiparous cows assigned to repeated Latin square designs (4 × 4) were 8 and 12 for exp. 1 and 12 and 20 for exp. 2. Each experiment utilized four extra rumen-fistulated lactating cows to examine aspects of rumen metabolism. The four treatments applied in exp. 1 were (a) twice-daily feeding of concentrate, no hay; (b) thrice-daily feeding of concentrate, no hay; (c) hay offered 1 h before concentrate; and (d) hay offered 1 h after concentrate. Treatments in exp. 2 were similar, with the following exceptions: (b) concentrate six times daily; (c) hay 2 h before concentrate; and (d) hay 0.5 h after concentrate. In each treatment in both experiments, alfalfa silage was offered ad libitum. The average concentrate/forage ratio of the diets was 74:26 and 60:40 for exp. 1 and 2, respectively. In exp. 1, except for time spent eating and concentration of rumen propionate (increased with addition of 2 kg hay d−1, P < 0.05), treatments had no effect on dry matter intake, milk production and rumen metabolism. In exp. 2, inclusion of hay in the diet (3 kg d−1) increased DM intake (P < 0.001) and milk (P < 0.05), protein and lactose (P < 0.01) yields but decreased milk-fat test (P < 0.01). Hay also increased the ruminal molar proportions of propionate, butyrate (P < 0.05) and valerate (P < 0.001) and decreased acetate (P < 0.05), isobutyrate and isovalerate (P < 0.001). As in exp. 1, rumen ammonia N and pH were not affected by treatments. The effects of hay inclusion in the diet in exp. 2 are consistent with the high quality of hay used, which had a lower fiber content than the silage. Key words: Feeding frequency, feeding sequence, lactating dairy cows


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